Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Without new technology this site would never have come into being. The idea for the GDLG came in response to what I felt were drawbacks and roadblocks born from the benefits associated with our new digital age bringing all Dead shows to our fingertips. It becomes an interestingly blurry distinction, or perhaps more so, an uroboros-like connotation, which leaves it hard to call the technology outright bad, or good. Without its drawbacks, I would not have found an avenue into the pleasure of my own creative output here. We wouldn’t have all the Dead shows online if not for the dedication of a well connected community, and we wouldn’t have seen the entire face of our trading community turned on its ear if not for the music having made it online. One has fed the other, and back again.

That said, there is also new communication technology springing up all the time. On the surface it can seem to only complicate the angles from which we get our information. But the Internet world is one of constant change. One’s existence online has become far more than a single webpage. Groups, companies, and people now have a “web presence,” and this spreads across multiple platforms and communication channels – I beg your pardon. That’s my “day job” persona talking.

I know some of you are already “fans” of the GDLG blog page on Facebook, and I’d encourage and welcome any Facebook users here to pop on over and join the group there – not that there’s anything particularly unique happening on that page. I keep waiting for Facebook to improve the usefulness of the blog pages in general. Regardless, I’d love to keep building the community there. Come on by and become a fan.

The jury may still be out on how good or bad all of these Social Networks are, but they are here just the same. Take Twitter. Good? Bad? I have no clue. My gut reaction is that it’s as much an intrusive little bother into the flow my day, as it is a unique way to keep up with people I know. And in the spirit of accepting new technology as having as much potential for good as bad, I’ve launched a DeadlListening specific Twitter account.

Do you tweet? Whether that question is completely baffling to you or not, why not stop by and consider following the GDLG on Twitter? And to be sure, not following DeadListening on Twitter will not leave you out of any loop. As you’ll see from the most recent tweets, I’m not plumbing the deepest Grateful Dead wisdoms on Twitter. It’s just a slightly more personal (and decidedly less significant) way to keep in touch over the Internet tubes.